Servicing

First- and second-mortgage default rates are down through July 2011, according to S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices.

With the Sept. 1 deadline looming where servicers have to comply with a consent order enforcing a single point of contact during the foreclosure process, Celink has implemented a new module to help its clients' borrowers who are in a default status.

When the new Home Affordable Modification Program was gaining some momentum in the fall of 2009, it became evident that servicers were being deluged with applications from struggling homeowners.

Real Estate Mortgage Network Inc., River Edge, N.J., has created an online consumer-direct mortgage lending operation under the name FinanceMyHome.com.

Freddie Mac's third "K" multifamily mortgage deal backed by seven-year mortgages is in the works this week.

The largest state organization of real estate professionals in the country has urged the mortgage community to improve the short-sale process, suggesting, among other things that they set realistic time frames in which to make their decisions and then stick to them.

For the second week in a row, stock market volatility impacted the home purchase market, driving applications for these loans to their lowest level since December 1996 and resulting in the total number of applications received to fall by 2.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Aug. 19, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Pending home sales in California experienced a fall of 1.7% in July from June based on contracts signed during the 31-day month, according to the California Association of Realtors.

It will take less time than previously expected for the housing market to clear the supply of distressed homes on the market, but that so-called shadow inventory will still be around for nearly four years, Standard & Poor's Rating Services said this week.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller late Tuesday removed New York AG Eric Schneiderman from the executive committee of a coalition seeking a civil settlement with the nation's megaservicers, saying he had "actively" undermined the group's efforts over the past few months.